We gather, claret and amber shining brightly in the sun, thinking that three points would give the team just the start needed. The pessimists concede that they would take a point and be happy. Then the world ends.
The lesson is there to be learned. Our performance in the last six openers has been woeful. Four losses on the trot, a draw and one solitary victory.
0 – 3 LOSS | Report | ||
Livingstone a | 2 – 3 LOSS | Report | |
2 – 5 LOSS | Report | ||
0 – 2 LOSS | |||
Hibs a | 2 – 2 DRAW | ||
St Johnstone h | 1 – 0 WIN |
Well before the game finished on Saturday the comments in the stands repeated those of former years. “Same as last year”, “Just the usual” and “Here we go again” were the most polite comments.
Terry Butcher added, "We thoroughly deserved to lose, we allowed them to play well as the real Motherwell didn't turn up today. We had no confidence that we showed in pre-season and I'm very disappointed". Fair comment.
Now that the annual bubble has burst we must steel ourselves for a long and dangerous struggle in the months ahead. It may be that the return of Adams, Lasley and McFadden could make a difference but that is unlikely to guarantee safety. We need something more in midfield and we have to fill the unallocated number nine shirt as a matter of urgency.
The transfer window will remain open for another couple of weeks – surely Terry will have a few new faces in place by then.